A chance to change things the first book
by soaringwren
Summary: This is another one of those stories where the characters read the books, I know. This is the Order Members from right before the events of OotP reading the Harry potter series. I plan to do the Whole series nonstop after this, so look for the others on my profile after this is done. T to be safe for mentions of Abuse and swearing. Crap summary, sorry, but the story is much better.
1. A stressful meeting, and a surprise

**This is just the Intro, but I'll post the next chapter in just a few seconds. This won't be one of those fanfics where the author gets tired of posting more and you only get the first or second book. No, I plan to go all the way with this, with all the books, but it will take me a long time, so bear with me. I hope you like my take on the characters responses to the books! Oh, and please, please, please, please review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is from the Harry Potter books, nor none of the characters. Anything in bold, if i am careful with my formatting, is not mine, so don't get confused. (because if you do I'll have a bunch of angry lawyers set on me!)**

Remus Lupin shook his head as his migraine steadily grew worse. It had started out as a normal headache that morning, and had escalated as the time went on. Of course, the full-blown shouting match taking place in the kitchen between Mrs. Weasley and his best friend wasn't helping either. Somehow, the Order's meetings always ended this way, but this time, the arguing had started even before the meeting did. He couldn't even remember what it had been about this time, but from the remarks made, he could barely decipher the original purpose; Harry.

"And then you went and landed yourself in Azkaban for 12 years!" Molly practically screamed. This had gone on long enough. Just as Remus had stood up to shut the two order members up, there was a loud thud, and 7 books dropped onto the table. All went silent and everyone reached for their wands. Tonks, who had the clearest view of the spine, squealed, "This one's called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!" This caused a huge uproar.

"Harry? Who's written a book about Harry?"

"What does it mean, the sorcerers stone?"

"Are the others about Harry too?"

"I've never heard about such a thing."

"Are they safe?"

"SHUT IT!" Moody roared, and everyone went quiet. The paranoid Auror poked at the pile of books with his wand, and a wolf patronum with dark-almost blue-tinged fur stepped out of nowhere and spoke. "You are Alastor Moody?" The apparition asked, but Moodys only response was, "And who'd want to know?" The wolf snorted and continued in an amused tone, "Then you are he. I have come here to instruct you in the reading of these books. First of all, you must read in order, second of all, breaks are allowed, but I encourage you to read as quickly and as often as you can. Thirdly, there can be no changes made without my permission until the whole series is finished, and finally, any people who are not allowed to read with you all will not be allowed to enter the room the books are in due to a barrier I have made. People are allowed to leave, but I suggest you all stay to read all the books together, and thirdly, all injury and prosecution towards each other is not to be tolerated until the whole story and truth is told. Things can be deceiving at first. Yes, the last books are of the future, but I have brought them to you to change the events, for horrific things occur. I must go, but I will appear to you again throughout the reading. Good luck." And before anyone could say a thing, the wolf disappeared in a silvery cloud of mist.

The silence started to pound on the weary werewolves nerves, and he finally said, "We should read. I mean, what's the harm?"

"Everything!" Moody barked, "It could be a trap!"

"I don't think it is." Dumbledore, who had stayed quiet throughout the whole incident said. "I think we should read."

Moody subsided, but still muttered, "You're all mad."

"Well, let's read, shall we?" Sirius said cheerfully, and Remus pulled the first book off the pile.

**How was that? Alright? Definitely short, but don't worry, the next chapter will be up in a blink. I hope you like, and review!**


	2. The Boy Who Lived

_**And here we go, the first chapter! Yay! (some scattered applause) Come on guys, you can do better than that! Please, just a little feedback would be nice, whether its an essay, a small paragraph, two words, or a smiley face. I really hope my characters are convincing and that this is an enjoyable chapter. I try my best :) I'll let you read now, I guess.**_

_**Disclaimer: I have no idea what all you people think, or how you reached the conclusion that I might actually **__**own**__** the Harry Potter series/characters, but let me reassure you, I don't! Wish I did, but I don't.**_

* * *

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone." Remus read off, and the group exchanged curious and confused glances, though McGonagall and Dumbledore seemed to know what the name of the book meant. Lupin cleared his throat nervously and looked down, beginning to read, "Chapter One, The Boy Who Lived."

**"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."**

Sirius snorted, "Boring is so normal. I have no idea how those muggles can be so proud of it." Before Lupin could speak, Madeye growled, "Shut it, Black. It'll be months to finish if you keep interrupting."

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings. Which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. **

"They sound like pleasant people." Tonks remarked disgustedly, and the rest of the group agreed, not enjoying the vulgar description of the people who took care of Harry.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"Just wait until they meet Harry." Sirius said proudly, while Remus gently reminded him that the Dursleys were allowed to dote on their son. "It's true!" Sirius protested in response and although Remus only rolled his eyes and kept reading, he silently agreed.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"What?!" was the collective cry, and Arthur quietly asked, "Why would they be ashamed of Lily and James?"

"Sick bastards, that's who." Sirius said, and at seeing Remus's warning look, continued stubbornly, "I'm telling you, I don't like them."

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"Good." Sirius growled, and the others felt uncomfortable. While Sirius was impulsive and could be often wrong, they didn't like the feeling they got about reading about Harry's official guardians.

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived on the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

At the look on Sirius's face, one that looked the man wanted to kill, Tonks assured, "They probably only thought that before they actually met Harry." Leave it to Tonks to be the continuous optimist, seeing the good and possibility in everybody. Sirius still didn't look convinced and Remus considered taking his wand to be safe.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Brat." Sirius muttered and McGonagall shot him a cold look.

** None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"Nobody ever does." Moody said, almost cheerfully, if that was possible for him.

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"Disgusting behavior for a child. I'm sure Harry must've been a blessing." Molly noted.

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet drive – no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. **

McGonagall gave a small smile, and grins broke out on Remus, Tonks and Sirius's faces. "That was you?" Remus asked in disbelief, and she nodded. "I didn't think he had seen me with the map." She admitted and Sirius breathed out, "Bloody brilliant."

"Language." Molly scolded him, though she was smiling too.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**

Several people snorted, and Molly said, "You think he would know a little more about the wizarding world."

"It is strange to see so many wizards about undisguised." Remus commented curiously. Then again, he had been too busy mourning Sirius, James, Lily's and at the time, Peter's fortunes to be out celebrating Voldemorts demise.

**He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and he was wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt -these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at night time.**

"I remember that," Arthur said with a smile, "The minister was complaining about how much work it took to cover up."

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. **

"Oh, yes, that sounds like a wonderful day, yelling at people." Tonks commented.

**He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard –-"**

**"- yes, their son, Harry -"**

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him.**

"Why would he be afraid?" Arthur asked. "I don't know." Remus replied and even Dumbledore looked confused.

**He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry.**

"Yah, right. You wish." Sirius snorted.

**Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He's never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if he'd had a sister like that**

Remus's fists were white as he clutched the book, and Sirius looked ready to slam Mr. Dursley's head against a brick wall, repeatedly…

**But all the same, those people in cloaks… He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. "Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" and the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

The room was filled with laughter at the image of a wizard walking up to the cranky muggle and hugging him, and even McGonagall cracked a smile. The wizards certainly had been happy that day, but it never lasted…

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. **

"Of course not." Sirius said jokingly, though a darker look in his eye was not missed.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood – was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

"Quite persistent McGonagall." Remus said, his mouth quirked into a small smile, and Molly asked, "Why were you there?"

"I'm sure you'll find out later in the story. Keep reading." Was Minerva's mysterious response.

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around his eyes. "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. **

More laughter broke the tension that the room had previously held.

**Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word (Won't!).**

"Impressive." Tonks said sarcastically, "Real impressive."

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these burds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

**"Well, Ted," said the weathermen, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars!**

"They sure know how to party!"

Dumbledore only sighed, "How many times have I told Dedalus Diggle to stay inconspicuous?"

"Fools!" Moody barked, "They could've exposed all of us!"

"Oh, lighten up!" Sirius countered, "I could've done with a firewhiskey…" he trailed off sadly and the others exchanged looks. Indeed, it had been a time of celebration for many, but for whoever knew James and Lily, it was a day of mourning.

**Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early – it's not until next week folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people all over the place?**

Sirius grinned, "You had better believe it!"

"You know that the book can't hear you, right?"

"Spoilsport."

**And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters… Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear, - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. "No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls…shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny looking people in town today…."**

**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I just thought**… **maybe… it was something to do with… you know… her crowd."**

The conversation made the air tense again, and Sirius's jaw was clenched, and even Minerva looked about to burst into a rant she usually saved for a particular troublemaking student who had done something dangerous.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared to tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided that he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son – he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

Molly got a protective look about her, "They're insulting him and they don't even know him yet!"

**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom. Mr. DUrsley crept to the bedroom window and peered into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. Was he imagining things? **

"I thought he didn't believe in imagination." Sirius shot out, and Remus just continued, slightly exasperated at the interruptions.

**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of –**

Sirius's tone turned deadly. "Just you finish that sentence, Dursley…" He threatened, and Remus tensed, ready for a burst of anger from his friend, but relaxed once he read the rest of the sentence. Though it wasn't that much better.

** well, he didn't think he could bear it. **

Sirius still looked ready to kill, and the others didn't seem to far from it either. Even the wolf was beginning to growl at the repulsive things the Dursleys had said and thought about Lily and James.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about him and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on – he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them… How very wrong he was. Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness.**

"Of course not," Remus tried to joke, "No sleeping on the job."

"Damn right. CONSTANT VIGILENCE!" Moody bellowed and everyone jumped in their seats at the sudden and unexpected noise. Remus was still massaging his ringing ears when Moody said irritably, "Are you going to read or not?"

"Okay, Okay," Remus muttered and turned his attention back to where he had paused,

**It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared to suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

"I wondered when I would make an appearance." Dumbledore said, amused, and the rest of the group was surprised how little they knew about Harry's actual arrival to the Dursley house.

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive.**

"I expect not." Tonks commented. And Moody promptly said, "Stop interrupting."

"Sourpuss."

**He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver in his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, high-buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling beneath half-moon spectacles and his nose was long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize that he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat**, **which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known." He found what he was looking for inside his pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again – the next lamp flickered into darkness.**

"Cool!" Sirius cried, and the others chuckled at his juvenile responses.

** Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. "Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." He smiled at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" She asked.**

"You can never fool Dumbledore." Moody said, almost proudly, and Sirius smiled, "I bet it was the reprimanding look in her eye." McGonagall turned and gave him the evil eye, but the Marauder only crowed, "There it is!"

**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"Probably from sitting on the brick wall for so long." Tonks commented sympathetically.

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"Wow, cousin, you can tell the future!"

"Oh, shut up Sirius."

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh, yes, I've been celebrating, all right," She said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no –even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I've heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"Auugh, It _would_ be Minnie who would ruin a perfectly good party." Sirius whined and Minerva gave him a sharp look.

**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"See?! Even Dumbledore agrees with me!" Sirius's exclamation of triumph was ignored.

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably, "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." **

"Exactly." Moody growled.

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know –Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really had gone, Dumbledore?"**

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

Dumbledore received several strange looks and he chuckled, explaining, "It's a Muggle candy."

"Fascinating," Arthur said, but before he could ask a flood of questions concerning Muggles, Remus read on.

**"A what?"**

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.**

"It probably wasn't." Sirius chuckled.

"Of course it wasn't!" Minerva said in a scolding tone.

**"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone-"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

Remus interrupted himself thoughtfully, "You know, it makes sense. Harry always says his real name, and I think we ought to as well." There were a few hesitant nods at his suggestion, what Dumbledore had said did make sense.

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."**

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

**"Only because you're too – well – noble to use them."**

"It's true." Was the collective chorus, and Dumbledore blushed.

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

Sirius sniggered.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore said it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. "What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – dead."**

The words hit Sirius as a physical blow, and he bent his head, a tear sliding down his face. No matter how many times it was said, how many times he accepted it, it hurt him so deep he could hardly breathe. Molly let out another faint sob and leaned into a morose Arthur Weasely. Tonks looked solemn, Remus looked on the verge of a breakdown, McGonagall held rigid posture, Dumbledores sparkling eyes were subdued, and Moody's face was an impenetrable mask. All was silent for a minute, and Sirius finally nodded at Remus, prompting his friend to continue reading.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…" Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I Know…" he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone." Dumbledore nodded glumly. "It's - it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall.**

Sirius couldn't blame her; he could remember when he had first found out, first seen Harry alive…

**"After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

**"We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know." Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles.**

Sirius couldn't find the energy to make a joke about the Professor going soft, he only rested his forehead on the table, and after a quick glance of concern, Remus continued to read.

**Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said. "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall, "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

Sirius raised his head from the table quickly, hissing in sudden rage, "They are _not _his family." Dumbledore flinched and tried to explain, "I thought it would be best for him at the time."

"He should've been with me." Sirius said sadly, and memories surfaced, of his time in Azkaban, of not being with Harry… Remus quickly put the book down and embraced Sirius. "I know, I know, but he's with us now… I know…" he murmured quietly and Sirius shook with sobs of anger and sorrow. A few minutes later, Sirius broke away and looked up at the others around the table with red eyes, almost daring them to question his sudden vulnerability of emotion. They left him in peace as he sank his head down again, and Remus paused before bracing himself and continued to read,

**"You don't mean – you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here?!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written a letter."**

"A letter?!" Molly shrieked, "How can a letter help?!" she began to alternate between sobs and strangled sounds of outrage Arthur pulled her back into his arms, and Dumbledore studied the table.

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future - there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"Exactly." Said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses, "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"Being famous would be better than living with them." Molly said unbelievingly and Remus nodded. Why couldn't have Harry stayed with him?

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course.**

Minerva sighed, regretting her choice.

** But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it. "Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"As would I." Tonks declared, and the rest of the group nodded solemnly. "Of course, as long as it isn't a secret while he's holding alcohol." Sirius added to lighten the mood.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "But you can't pretend he's not careless. **

McGonagall hung her head ashamedly. She would take back what she said if she could. Hagrid had proved himself over and over throughout the years, and what she had said was harsh.

**He does tend to – what was that?" A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some soighn of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

Sirius brightened slightly at the mention of his motorbike and sniffed before saying wistfully, "Ah, I miss that beauty…"

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild –**

"He's not wild!" Tonks exclaimed, "You'd never meet a gentler soul than Hagrid."

"Too true. He's why we were able to escape detention from half our pranks because we could convince him that we had a good, kind at heart reason for being in trouble." Sirius snorted.

"I'll keep that in mind." Minerva said coldly and Sirius turned a shade paler.

**Long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.**

"I remembered being terrified of him the first time I saw him." Remus admitted and Sirius laughed, "We all were! James told me that Hagrid might accidently step on us and not notice!"

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. "Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me.**

Sirius frowned, unpleasant memories of that night stirring in his mind, his eagerness to capture Pettigrew instead of look after Harry.

**I've got him, sir."**

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir – house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. **

"Thank god for that." Molly breathed, and although nobody else said it, they were all thinking the same.

**He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol." Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. "Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

A thought struck Lupin. "Professor? Is there any way to conceal it?" He asked.

"I've tried," Dumbledore said regretfully, "But it's power makes it unable to mask, even our strongest potions and charms have failed."

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy.**

"Since when?" Moody asked doubtfully.

**I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Undergroud.**

Everyone in the room stared, startled, at Dumbledore, who was smiling quaintly at them.

"However did you get that?" Arthur asked, but Dumbledore didn't give an answer, so Remus simply continued reading.

**Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with." Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Durselys' house.**

"He should've been with me." Sirius whispered again in a broken voice, but nobody heard except Remus, who was determined to talk to his friend after the chapter was over.

**"Could I – could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss.**

Everyone except Moody gave a small smile at Hagrid's sensitivity and show of emotion.

**Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog**

"Fool! He'll wake up the whole street!" Moody shouted, but Tonks defended, "Hey! He's emotional, but he doesn't mean to be so loud!"

"Though it must've been deafening." Remus said, thinking back to how loud Padfoot howled when he hurt his paw, and then magnified it to Hagrid's size. Sirius, sensing what Lupin was drawing context from, glared and muttered, "Hey, it really hurt, okay?"

**"Shhhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!" **

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it –Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles –"**

"I know Hagrid." Sirius said sadly.

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll all be found," Professor McGonagall whispered,**

"Wow, I didn't think you could be so, insensitive."

"Well, if I hadn't said anything, we would've been standing there for hours and get caught."

**Patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. "Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"You're just going to leave him on the doorstep in the cold?!" Sirius shouted furiously.

"He had better not get sick." Molly firmly agreed and Remus nodded as well.

"What else was he supposed to do?" Mad-eye asked reasonably, but this set Sirius off.

"I don't know! Anything but leave him there with those Muggles! He should've grown up here, in the wizarding community, not Lily's horrible sister's house! I met that woman! She shouldn't have been the one to take care of Harry!" and as soon as the fire began, it ended, and Sirius slumped back in his seat, wearily motioning to Remus to continue reading.

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back.**

"Too late, I'll be in Azkaban by then," Sirius said, but shook off the sadness and continued, "I wonder where Hagrid ended up putting it though…"  
**G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and pulled out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. "Good luck, Harry." He murmered. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

"You just said, 'good luck'?" Remus asked in disbelief, and Albus bowed his head, murmuring regretfully, "It had to be done."

"He's just a boy." Molly sobbed into Arthur's shirt, and the others found their eyes watering. Even Moody popped out his glass eye, though he pretended that it just needed cleaned.

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen.**

"Of course." Sirius said grimly.

**Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people are meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!"**

The group exchanged sad looks, not knowing what to say. Remus felt a sob rising in his throat and he set the book down, resting his head in his hands. Sirius kept flickering between looking like he wanted to collapse into tears and destroying the books, and Tonks' eyes were damp, glistening in the light above the table. Arthur looked torn as well, but he had enough left in him to say comfortingly, "Remus. I can read next." Lupin nodded slightly and Arthur picked up the book.

* * *

**_Aha! The page breaks work! Or at least, for now... Heh, anyway, I hope that was an enjoyable first chapter, and if you review, I can post the next chapter really quickly, so please please review and motivate me to write more!_**


	3. The Vanishing glass

**Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all your reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I don't have alot to say here in this AN, which I'm sure you're all glad for, but I just want to say that I hope you enjoy this next chapter and that reviews are always appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I would come up with something witty to say, but the fact that I have to tell you I don't own the Harry Potter series is so boring and fairly idiotic i don't really care. I don't own the Harry Potter Series. Shocking, I know.**

"Please let it be a better chapter." Sirius said pleadingly, and with that Arthur read, "Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass."

"Magic?" Sirius asked, "Maybe this is where he goes to Hogwarts!" He then shouted, jubilant at the thought of not having to hear any more of Harry being in the Muggle world.

"We'll see." Remus said gently, and gestured for Arthur to read.

**"Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

"Geez." Sirius groaned, "That place is so boring, can we get to the magic already?"

"Maybe we can if you stop interrupting!" McGonagall scolded harshly and Sirius quieted.

**The sun still rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their libing room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different colored bonnets—but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**

Sirius gave a bark of laughter at the description of the chubby boy, and Remus snorted, but they both wanted to hear about Harry.

**And now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"What!?" Sirius roared and sprung up, beginning to pace, and Remus went pale. "Are you telling me they had no pictures of him?" Remus asked in a weak voice, and Tonks bit her lower lip nervously. "How could they?! When I get my hands on them…" Sirius continued on his rant, then he skidded to a stop, a look of hope on his face, "Maybe he left soon after he got there and he didn't have to live there after all!" Remus didn't say anything for fear of shattering his friend's hopes and invoking another burst of rage, but Dumbledore's and Moody's faces betrayed what he had been thinking, that Harry _had _lived there for those 10 years.

"Sirius, sit down." Arthur commanded softly, and Sirius finally did, though he only sat on the edge of the seat, ready to spring up again in a seconds time.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there,**

Sirius's face dropped, but Arthur read on determinedly,

**Asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. "Up! Get up! Now!" Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. "Up!" she screeched.**

"Ooh, that sounds worse than my good old mom." Sirius joked, yet there was carefully waiting anger on his tongue.

**Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it.**

Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise and Moody gruffly commented, "Strange. Usually you don't remember something from that young an age."

**He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before. His aunt was back outside the door.**

"Wow, persistent isn't she?" Remus commented dryly and Sirius gave a bark of laughter.

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded. "Nearly," said Harry. "Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon.**

"She has him cook?" Minerva asked and Molly looked troubled, "That's odd, I would never have let any of the boys cook at that age."

"Maybe she's busy?" Tonks suggested, but even her eternal optimism was fading.

**And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"Great, we have to read about the brat's birthday?" Sirius groaned.

**Harry groaned.**

"Good! We think alike!" Sirius said, giddy with joy.

"Black, will you stop interrupting on every line?" Moody growled irritably.

**"What did you say?" His aunt snapped through the door. "Nothing, nothing…" Dudley's birthday – how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off of one of them,**

"eek!" Tonks squealed and Sirius rolled his eyes at her reaction.

**Put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because-**

Arthur hesitated.

"What?" Moody snapped. Arthur turned pale and started trembling but finally read softly, **because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

Silence dominated the room, broken by Sirius's chair flying backwards and crashing against the wall. He yelled, "He slept in a cupboard?! They put my godson in a goddamn cupboard?!" As Sirius ranted and screamed and punched the wall repeatedly, Remus sat, stunned. _Not Harry, anybody but Harry, not Harry, they couldn't have… Who would lock somebody so fantastically kind and brilliant as Harry in a cupboard? Most importantly, how could they be the people taking care of him? And why didn't he tell us? _He snapped out of his daze as Sirius rounded on Dumbledore, yelling "Did you know?! How could you have let him live there with those vile pieces of filth?! How?!" Remus was about to step in when the calm, but slightly saddened headmaster responded, "I didn't know." This pacified Sirius for a moment, then it all exploded again. "That's it! When I get my hands on them…" he marched towards the door determinedly.

"Sirius. I know what you want to do, and they deserve it. But we should finish the book, and then we can plan what to do next." Remus reasoned, his words sounding far calmer than he felt.  
"Remus, I can't wait. Harry, they…" Sirius keened.

"I know. We can wait. They'll get what they deserve."

Sirius gave up and righted the chair, sitting in it again, but he growled in Dumbledore's direction, "He's not going back."

"We can talk after the book."

"Either way, he's not going back to that goddamn house. Never." Seeing the look in his friends eye, and anxious about what was to come, Remus discreetly locked the door with a simple charm. Arthur cleared his throat, looking pale, and continued to read.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents.**

"Spoiled brat."

**It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. **

"Why would he want a racing bike? It seems like he hates exercise." Tonks commented, deeply disgusted with the Dursley family. She failed to see how Petunia could be related to Lily.

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise – unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,**

McGonagall twisted her face into a look of rage, Molly sobbed louder, Tonks looked green and ready to flee the room, Moody's face hardened in displeasure, Dumbledore slumped in on himself, and Sirius let out a growl and slammed his fist against the table. Remus was ready to rip the book into shreds. Arthur tensed, but kept reading.

**But he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast. Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Of course it is!" Molly wailed, "He was so skinny, I should've noticed, I should've made him eat more!" Arthur rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Well, James always was scrawny. It's in the Potter family genes." Sirius said, trying to reassure the motherly woman. Even though they had their arguments over what was best for Harry, he knew that Molly cared deep down for his godson.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear where old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. **

Remus watched Sirius carefully, but the emotional godfather only clenched his fists and whispered, "…if it's the last thing I do…"

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

Sorrow welled in Sirius as he thought about how self-deprecating Harry was. Although James's ego had been annoying at times, it was so much better than how Harry thought of himself.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

They all saddened. This was the moment when he learned about Voldemort and how his parents had died that October night.

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said**

That was not it. Remus and Sirius both yelled, "A car crash?!"

"Those lying-" Sirius began

"Cheating-"

"Filthy-"

"Muggle-"

"Bastards!"

"Lily and James would never have died in a car crash!"

"They would never! I say we kill them!"

All eyes were on Remus when he said grimly, "I agree." Within seconds, both men had lost their wands and were forced into their seats.

"We finish reading the chapter and then we decide." Arthur and Minerva told them, and Remus and Sirius finally stopped struggling, their eyes still darting towards the door.

**"And don't ask questions."**

"Then how is he supposed to learn?" McGonagall asked, thoroughly flustered.

**Don't ask questions – that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. "Comb your hair!" He barked, by way of a morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made on difference, his hair simply grew that way – all over the place.**

"James's hair." Sirius commented wistfully, "He never could keep it under control."

** Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel**

Tonks made gagging noises and turned her hair spiky and bright green while Sirius's muttered, "More like a pig."

**Harry had often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Although he didn't full on laugh, Sirius drastically brightened, and Remus couldn't help but smile as Tonks returned to normal with a loud, "You tell 'em Harry!"

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. "Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"He should be lucky to get one present, stuck up git like him." Sirius said and nobody scolded or corrected him.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?" Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work.**

"I'll bet it was."

**Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**

"He can't even add?" Remus snorted and McGonagall looked incredulous, "But he's ten at least!"

"And guess where he got his brains from." Sirius added.

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. "Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**

"Oh, poor Arabella." Minerva tutted, "She's a nice woman, even if she is a little too fond of her cats." At the last sentence she scowled.

"What, did she try to adopt you?" Sirius chuckled and laughed when McGonagall glared at him. "Remind me that Mr. Padfoot needs to visit her sometime."

"You will do no such thing. I may not be your teacher anymore, but I can still put you in a full body-bind if need be."

"Fine; but you're no fun…"

**She jerked her head in Harry's direction. Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. **

"Those gits."

**Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. "Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.**

"What?" Molly asked, astonished, "How could he be responsible?"

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

McGonagall shuddered and Dumbledore smiled.

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.  
"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." **

"They're just talking about Harry as if he's not there." Remus said, surprised.

"I'm going to spoil Harry rotten next time I see him." Sirius said fiercely.  
"And I'm going to make sure that he gets a good meal in him." Molly declared. Arthur smiled and found his place on the page again.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there – or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. "What about whats-her-name, your friend – Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. "You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully,**

"Of course not," Sirius said bitterly, "because you might actually have fun."

**(he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. "And come back and find the house in ruins?" She snarled. "I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

Arthur looked up and simply said, "They treat him differently because of the magic he doesn't even know about."

"You know… blowing up the house isn't such a bad idea…" Sirius said in a deadly voice, but McGonagall warned, "Black, don't even think about it."

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "…and leave him in the car…"**

"He's not an animal!" Remus cried, and Sirius looked ready to burst. The way Arthur turned pale and rigid didn't reassure them.

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"**

The words sunk in and Minerva made a strangled noise, "They're more concerned about their car than Harry! Dumbledore!" Dumbledore didn't meet any of their eyes. Sirius's eyes were filled with angry tears and Remus had to fight the urge not to run to exact revenge on the Dursleys. Even Moody clenched his jaw and had a fiery look in his one good eye.

**Dudley began to cry loudly.**

"Why is _he _crying?" Tonks asked, and Arthur read on to answer her question.

**In fact, he wasn't really crying – it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"Disgusting." Moody muttered.

**"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. "I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" he shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Just then, the doorbell rang – "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Petunia frantically – and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one that held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.**

"You touch my Pup and I'll make you want to be dead…" Sirius growled and Remus was momentarily surprised at the protective nickname his friend had given Harry, then realized that he felt the same way. Harry was like his son, his Pup, part of his pack. It just fit.

**Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Of course." Tonks scowled.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

His heart rate picked up. If Vernon touched Harry once… Remus could tell that Sirius, and even the others felt the same way as well.

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

Sirius's breathing become ragged, "If you're threatening him, I'll beat you into a bloody pulp."

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…" But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short that he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar."**

Sirius grimaced.

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school to the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

Sirius bared his teeth and actually _snarled_.

"Sirius, you can't hex everyone in his school." McGonagall warned him, but he only growled, "Watch me." Everyone backed off, feeling the full force of a protective father.

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

"Good job, kiddo." Remus whispered with a grin and Tonks' face looked ready to crack from the size of her smile.

"Yah, you show him!" Sirius shouted enthusiastically.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

Their smiles quickly dropped at this.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"He shouldn't expect to be punished for accidental magic." Molly said quietly, and it all clicked into place. No wonder why Harry was so apologetic, so polite, yet so quick to assume that he was in trouble or being cast out. He and Sirius would have to talk after the chapter.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

Moody let out a slow whistle, "That's impressive for accidental magic, especially at a young age. He has natural talent to be an Auror."

"Doesn't he have enough to deal with?!" Molly shouted and the subject was dropped.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them that Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. But today, nothing was going to go wrong.**

"Knowing Harry's luck, everything will." Remus said softly at that.

**It was even worth being with the Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

"Next time I see Harry, I'm taking him someplace fun." Sirius said.

"I'm coming too." Remus added firmly, and Sirius looked surprised but didn't argue.

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"And what it is wrong with motorcycles, exactly?" Sirius said in a deadly soft tone. Vernon was getting on his nerves.

Arthur gulped softly and kept reading.

**"…roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. "I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Yes! That ought to shut him up!"

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"DON'T YELL AT MY GODSON!" Sirius roared at the book in the same sort of reply.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered. "I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon – they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

"He's talking about all this as if it's a good day." Remus said in disbelief. No wonder why Harry was so unselfish and didn't regard what he wanted, no wonder he seemed in a state of shock at the amount of presents he had gotten that Christmas when he had given everyone in the Order exceptional gifts in the first place.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his Knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

Sirius began to hyperventilate. "What, what, what happens next?"

Moody snapped, "Maybe if we read, we'll find out!" but Remus could swear that the auror looked nervous.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trashcan –**

"Please tell me it doesn't hurt Harry." Sirius begged, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Remus assured, "He'll be fine, I'm sure."

**But at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

"See?"

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. "Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"Coward." Mad-eye said, "Won't even touch the glass himself." That was when it hit Remus. The vanishing glass…

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. **

"That was Harry, always thinking of others… including animals."

**It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom,**

"I doubt it." Sirius growled.

**Where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"At least the snake is fed and taken care of well." Sirius retorted.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on level with Harry's.**

"Oh please, oh, please no, please, please, no." Was Sirius's quiet mantra.

**It winked.**

Sirius paused, looking shocked. "Snakes can't wink." He said doubtfully and Remus decided to fill him in on what everyone else already knew. "No, they don't," he explained, "but Harry is parseltongue."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yes, we found out in his second year." Dumbledore added, and Sirius looked blank for a moment, not knowing what to do with what he had just learned. Arthur decided just to keep reading.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching.**

"Why would he do that?" Sirius asked.

"Think about it," Remus said and sighed, "Harry's used to being punished when something strange happens." Rage filled Sirius's eyes and he answered with a clipped, "Oh."

**They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time."**

"That's just surreal." Tonks said.

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." The snake nodded vigorously. "Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to it. Harry peered at it. Boa Constrictor, Brazil. "Was it nice there?" The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see – so you've never been to Brazil?" As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "Dudley! Mr. Dursley! Come and look at this snake! You won't believe what it's doing!"**

"Oh, great timing." Tonks muttered.

**Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could. "Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.**

Sirius gripped the edge of the table, looking ready to flip the whole thing over.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened – one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning up right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. **

Mad-eye gave a wicked grin, and a dawning of realization came over Tonks and Sirius. Molly was beaming, there was a mischievous sparkle in Dumbledore's eyes, and McGonagall was choking back laughter. Tonks looked awed, but best of all, Sirius looked like Christmas had come early and all his dreams had come true.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly by him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come. … Thanksss, amigo."**

"Brilliant!" Sirius shouted, his previous anger forgotten for the moment.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

Everyone in the room went pale in expectation of what was to come.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go – cupboard - stay – no meals,"**

"No meals?!" Sirius roared and McGonagall cried, "They were starving him!" Remus only had enough energy to slump in on himself. Molly muttered something like, "…get a proper meal in him… if it's the last thing I do."

**Before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. Harry lay in the dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking into the kitchen for some food. He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.**

"They didn't!" Sirius howled. Molly let out a strangled sob.

**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during the long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light**

"He remembers?" Remus asked, horrified.

"That's highly unusual." Moody said, partially sympathetic, and Sirius let out a low moan. Obviously steadying himself, Arthur continued reading,

**And a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

"You should have. There were no two better people together." Sirius said wistfully, unshed tears in his eyes.

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened,**

Sirius let out a howl, "It's all my fault, you should've been with me! Some godfather I am!"

"It was my fault too. I should've insisted, taken him in." Remus said miserably.

"Stop it, both of you!" McGonagall scolded, "It was awful, but it's already happened and Harry needs you now, not you two feeling guilty about what's already happened."

There was complete silence in the room, until Minerva said wearily, "Continue reading Arthur."

**The Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"Don't those people know the word inconspicuous?" Moody said harshly, and McGonagall looked disapprovingly at the book as if the people were inside and could be reprimanded. "You'd think they'd be more discreet." She sniffed indignantly.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gag hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"He didn't have any friends?" Remus whispered.

"Oh!" Molly exclaimed sorrowfully, "He didn't mention any, but I had always assumed."

Remus wanted to cry. He had been bullied and excluded for many years before he had met James and Sirius, and he knew how horribly it could hurt. It broke his heart to see his Harry, his pup, be treated so horribly. He clung to the thought that Harry would meet Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts and have at least two splendid years that would reflect the Marauder's own.

"I'll kill them all!" Sirius stated vehemently and before he could continue in that thought, Arthur turned to read on quickly. When he didn't, the rest of the group looked at him curiously. "It's the end of the chapter," he explained.

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**I hope you like! I'll post the next chapter soon, and there will be another commenting character…. Again, thank you all for your reviews, and please, please, please continue to review. Reviews really brighten my day and motivate me to write more!**


	4. Letters from Noone

**Hello all! I'm back! My ban officially ended on Friday, but I was swamped with work and grocery shopping so I refrained from updating till today. Whew, this was a long chapter to write, but all your reviews kept me going, so, THANK YOU. A lot of people have mentioned and asked me about Snape, and you're all right, I need to include him sooner than later, I just didn't really think about it until now, and I'll have to wait to find a good moment to include him. So, I've decided to have Harry join in this chapter; just think of it like that after Harry yells at Hermione and Ron while the order is having the meeting he goes downstairs to confront them and finds them reading the books. I might add more people later, but I need you guys to suggest the characters to bring in, so include that in your reviews. I'll need more encouragement, because the chapters just get longer and longer and school is stressful, but I try my best. :) Couldn't do this without you all! Enjoy!**

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"I'll read next." Tonks volunteered, and took the book, but just as she cleared her throat, the door was flung open. In Harry stormed, yelling, "I demand to know what's going on! I don't care how old I am, I want to join!" He paused at the sight of the order members looking at a book and he said, "What? It's just a book then?" He paled as he read the cover, and he asked weakly, "About me?" any other questions he was about to ask were cut off as Sirius tackled him in a bear hug, yelling fiercely, "You're never going back to those evil Muggles!"

"Erm… nice to see you too, Sirius?"

"We were reading about you living at the Dursleys." Remus said kindly. If at all possible, Harry turned a shade paler. To break the tension, Arthur broke in, "It's getting a bit crowded in here, isn't it? Perhaps we ought to move to the living room." Everyone else agreed.

"For goodness sake," Molly exclaimed, "let the poor boy breathe!" Sirius only hugged Harry tighter as they made their way to a living room. There were several sofas and loveseats arranged around a roaring fire, and they all settled in a certain order. Arthur and Molly sat on the loveseat farthest to the left, close to the fire, Tonks and Moody sat to their right on another sofa, Minerva and Dumbledore on the next loveseat (with some teasing from Sirius) and Remus, Sirius and Harry sitting on a rather large couch nearest to the fire on the right, with Harry seated comfortably between his two favorite guardians.

"Er, yes," Tonks said, "The next chapter.

**Letters from no one**

"Another odd name." Remus murmured to himself.

"Mr. Lupin, if you would refrain from interrupting before the chapter has actually begun…" Minerva said coldly. Remus blushed and said sheepishly, "Sorry…" Sirius snickered, "Whipped."

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started **

Both Sirius and Remus gave protective growls, and Harry studied the hem of his baggy t-shirt as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Remus noticed first and gave Sirius a warning look over Harry's head. Seeing this, Sirius subsided in his muttered threats and instead embraced his godson comfortingly. Harry stiffened at the sudden contact, which worried him, but after a few seconds, he became more comfortable in Sirius's arms.

**And Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Brat." Snarled Moody.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and the stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

With a yell of fury, Sirius leapt up and began pacing the room, saying obscene words under his breath and occasionally punching random inanimate objects. Harry was startled to see such protectiveness in his godfather, and it was a little nice to see it, although it made him worried about Sirius's mental health. But he couldn't help but flinch when Sirius turned sharply in his direction, fury overcoming all other expressions. For just a moment, he could see his Uncle's face, and then he would raise his hand… no, Sirius would never hurt him. Would he? Remus saw Harry's expression and motioned for his friend to calm down. He would have to make sure the three of them had a lengthy talk about what had happened.

Dumbledore also noticed this silent interaction, and deep down he knew that Remus and Sirius would sort it out in the end. He truly regretted sending Harry to live with Lily's relatives; it was obvious that Petunia was nothing like her sister. Maybe the arrangement could be changed… no, he would decide after they had read all the books. Tonks decided that she should keep reading, having given Sirius enough time to calm and the others enough to register any information they had gotten.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays. Where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Plkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.**

"No you aren't Harry, you're going to Hogwarts!" Sirius exclaimed.

"You know the book can't hear you, right?" McGonagall asked him skeptically.

"You spoil all the fun."

**Dudley thought this was very funny. "They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?" "No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it might be sick."**

Sirius gave a bark of laughter, "Nice one Pup!"

**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"You shouldn't have worried Harry," Remus joked, "It would take quite a while for him to work it out."

"Nice one Moony!" Sirius cried, and Harry grinned, amused at their interactions.

"If you jokers are finished." Mad-eye growled, but Tonks just laughed, saying "Aww, lighten up Moody."

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figgs. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years. **

"Are you hungry Harry?" Molly Weasely asked; she was serious about getting him to eat more. Harry mumbled, "No, I'm fine." Self-consciously, and Arthur took pity on the boy, telling his wife, "We'll have dinner in a little bit, dear."

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hats called boaters.**

"Eew, no fashion sense whatsoever." Sirius commented, and Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"Good training?!" McGonagall practically shrieked, outraged.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was he Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up.**

Sirius made a gagging noise at this while the rest of them laughed heartily.

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

Sirius, through bursts of his own laughter, gasped, "Go ahead and laugh, pup!"

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. "What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. "Your new school uniform," she said.**

"What!" Nobody knew who exactly said it, but Moody's challenging glare quickly quieted the room.

**Harry looked in the bowl again. "Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." "Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall Hight – like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of the letters on the doormat. "Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"Yes! Make the lazy git do something for once!" Sirius cheered.

"Language, Black." Molly scolded.

**"Make Harry get it." "Get the mail, Harry."**

"NO! You get it yourself you bloody bas-"

"Language!" Both Molly and McGonagall yelled at once.

**"Make Dudley get it." "Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

It was Arthur's eyes who flashed with rage this time, but he managed to rein in his anger.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – a letter for Harry.**

"Oh!" Sirius gasped. "It's your Hogwarts letter! Yay! Away from those evil muggles at last!" He jumped up and down with joy, not noticing the slump in Harry's shoulders. Remus snorted, "You didn't realize that earlier?"

"Hey, I had, well… more important things on my mind." Sirius stuttered defensively.

"If you two idiots are done with your conversation…" Moody said dryly.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written him.**

"You never got a letter?" Sirius asked softly and disbelief. Remus watched his unofficial godson with equal amount of astonishment as the boy hung his head and shook it. Sirius and Remus both leant in for a spontaneous hug. Remus was shocked, even he had gotten some letters when he was a teenager.

**Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even gotten rude notes asking for books back. **

Remus squeezed Harry even tighter, heartbroken for how alone Harry must've been without Hogwarts.

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: Mr. H. Potter The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive Little Whinging Surrey.**

"You said you didn't know!" Was the general cry of outrage; even Moody was on his feet. Remus felt the wolf rise up inside of him as Albus looked startled, then composed himself. "I truly didn't know. The system is automatic." McGonagall nodded to confirm his words. Remus sat back down, and the others followed, but their glares told that there would be a world of pain for the headmaster if he went one step out of line. Tonks found her place in the book again, cleared her throat nervously and continued to read.

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter H. **

"Hogwarts!" Sirius couldn't help himself, and Tonks snorted at his outburst.

**"Hurry up, boy!" Shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

"That was a joke?" Sirius asked, genuinely confused.

** Harry went back into the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. "Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" "Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Damn right he does!" Sirius crowed proudly, "Now watch as he opens it and goes to Hogwarts instead of a brat like you!" Harry just curled in on himself a little. Remus didn't fail to notice and asked him gently, "What happened? Harry, did they hurt you? Harry?"

He only mumbled, "It'll explain," in a quiet voice. Seeing that that was all that Harry was going to say, Remus motioned for Tonks to continue reading and pulled Harry further into his arms.

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"That bastard!" Sirius nearly screamed, and for once, wasn't scolded by the women in the room, seeing as they were too busy trying to burn the book by glares alone. Remus felt protective of Harry, having the thin boy in his arms was the only thing that kept him from leaping up and tearing the Dursleys apart. Dumbledore looked fairly horrified, he had heard that they had some trouble turning in Harry's Hogwarts letter, but he hadn't even considered that the Dursleys would refuse Harry to read the letter. Arthur was fuming, Moody had a dangerous scowl,and Tonks' hair was a bright red, just to match her face. The only comfort the group had was that Harry had gone to Hogwarts in the end. Remus controlled his temper enough to quietly ask Harry, "You get the letter soon, right?"

"Well, he kind of goes psycho for a while, but eventually." Harry mumbled into his shoulder, and Remus discreetly locked the door with an advanced spell and shielded most of the rooms interior. In truth, the one action from the offending Dursley had been minor, but what it showed had so much more frightening meaning. Because it was their real taste of how anti-magic the Dursleys really were, and how determined the muggle family was to squash Harry's magical potential. Tonks turned her hair a honey blond, and her face returned to only a faint blush, and she continued reading.

**"That's mine!" Said Harry, trying to snatch it back. "Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it.**

"A lot of people would want to write to Harry." Sirius said coldly, still pacing off the after-effects of his outburst.

**His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. "P-P-Petunia!" He gasped. Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. "Vernon! Oh my goodness – Vernon!" They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. "I want to read that letter," he said loudly. "I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine." "Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didn't move. "I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted. "Let me see it!" demanded Dudley. "OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them.**

"Don't you dare touch my godson." Sirius threatened ominously towards the book, and Remus knew it wouldn't take much to finally put Sirius over the edge.

**Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. "Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quicering coice, "Look at the address – how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?" "Watching – spying – might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. "But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want -" Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. "No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer…Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…" "But –" "I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

Moody growled, his brow furrowing, and Remus wrapped his arms tighter around Harry, worrying what 'stamping out' implied. If they had touched his pup… Tonks gulped and read on,

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. "Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" "No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

"THAT DOES IT!" Sirius gave his own roar. He pulled out his wand, but the door didn't open at his charm. He tried blasting it open, but it didn't even get singed. He tried to pull it open by hand, but it didn't move an inch, and he was eventually repelled backwards by his own strength. He staggered to his feet, his breathing ragged as he yelled, "DAMN IT ALL, MOONY! OPEN THE DOOR!"

"Sirius." Remus said, but Sirius didn't hear him, so he yelled, "Sirius! We'll kill them, but only after the book is finished!" He was confident he would be able to persuade his manic friend by the end of the book. While severe hexing wouldn't land them in Azkaban persay, if he let Sirius out at them in a killing mood, Sirius wouldn't be able to stop himself from doing something horrific, and most likely permanent. The ex-convict glared at the door for another minute, then slouched back to his side of the couch. Remus was too preoccupied with taking in what Sirius did that he couldn't decipher Harry's thoughts on the confrontation, but he knew he had to calm his friend down soon. Maybe a powerful calming drought slipped into his pumpkin juice…or fire-whisky, knowing how Sirius dealt with difficult topics.

**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it." "SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. "Er – yes, Harry – about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's**

Tonks paused, looked around the room nervously, looked back down at the page, turned pale, and whispered the end of the sentence,

**Second bedroom.**

It was a chaotic blur of noise, extra loud in Remus's sharp hearing, but luckily instead of taking out his fury and overprotectiveness on the nearest object, Sirius opted to take care of Harry, and embrace him from the other side in a way of protecting him from the fury the order members were releasing. Remus just felt numb. He wasn't surprised at this point, only more deeply pained at what Harry had had to suffer through.

"You actually slept in a cupboard while your cousin had two rooms?" Sirius asked, wide-eyed, and Harry nodded, surprised that his godfather was so surprised. "You didn't know?" he questioned disbelievingly, and Sirius shook his head with vigor. "If I would have known what they were like I would've broken out of Azkaban much sooner, Pup." He said. _Did Harry really think that the Order members knew what his home was like and they still sent him back every year?_

The rest of the room was still in an uproar, but in a second, the entire room was quiet, and Tonks looked extremely satisfied with herself, or at least as much as one could in the situation. Remus understood quickly. She had cast a silencing charm on most of the room. He was glad to find he still had his voice, and Tonks still had hers, since she continued reading.

**"Why?" said Harry. "Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms:**

There were many silent outcries at this.

**One for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog;**

Sirius mouthed something that almost distinctly looked like 'poor dog' and Remus said playfully, "What did you say, Padfoot? I couldn't quite hear you; you're an idiotic pratt? Was that what you said?"

He got a glare for his efforts, but the mood was much more cheerful.

**In the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

McGonagall looked distinctly disgusted, and Molly looked horrified of the examples of Dudleys awful personality.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there… I need that room… make him get out…" Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it. Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back.**

Remus didn't bother, but he knew that if he looked up, he would see everyone either mouthing the words: prat or spoiled git. What had surprised him was when Harry had sat up and said with a small grin, "It was actually pretty amusing to watch, really."

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened his letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.**

"Actually, he was probably trying to keep you from getting it." Remus said teasingly.

"Well, I didn't exactly know that they were going to send me another letter, did I?" Harry responded irritably, though it was all in good fun.

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall.**

Sirius made frantic hand gestures, but when it was obvious that Tonks wasn't going to lift the spell, he turned to Remus to do something like charades. He pointed at himself and Remus, and the playful werewolf slowly said, "We…'' Sirius made a gesture that looked like snapping something in half. "Should break up?" Sirius shook his head violently, and Remus couldn't help but smile and exclaim, "Awww, Sirius, I knew you still loved me." Sirius scowled and tried the hand gesture a few more times before giving up completely at the amused yet 'innocent' look on his friends face. He slumped backward into a dramatic laying down position and used his hand to shape like a pistol symbol which he pretended to kill himself with. He had learned this in a muggle movie and enjoyed using it whenever possible. Remus just rolled his eyes.

**Then he shouted, "There's another one! Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive –" With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

Remus bit his lower lip in frustration. He had been rooting for Harry in his mind, but it was obvious that his pup wasn't going to get the letter he more than deserved at that moment.

**"Go to your cupboard – **

The whole room tensed up, and Remus put a comforting hand on Harry's back, even though he was probably the one in need of comfort.

**I mean, your bedroom," He wheezed at Harry. "Dudley - go - just go." Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again?**

Sirius gave Tonks his puppy eyes, and she sighed, releasing everyone from the spell. The first thing Sirius said wasn't a cry of triumph, but merely, "Of course they would. Who wouldn't want to talk to Harry?" Harry gave his godfather a weak smile.

**And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

"Oh no," Remus moaned, "If his plans are anything like his fathers, it won't go well."

"That's true," Sirius grinned, "we tended to wing it. You were the master planner."

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He wouldn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.**

"Not a bad plan." Arthur commented, but Tonks frowned. "I have a feeling that it's going to go wrong."

"Yep, that's just my luck." Harry gave a small grin.

** His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door-"AAAAARRRGH!"**

"What happened?" Molly asked worriedly, and Dumbledore gently said, "Perhaps we might find out if we keep reading, Dear." The motherly figure blushed.

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat – something alive! Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big squashy something had been his uncle's face.**

"Oh no!" Molly gasped, but the rest of the room had the opposite reaction; Tonks snorted loudly, Moody gave a grim smile, Arthur lit up, Sirius gave a triumphant smile, McGonagall a wry one, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Even Remus couldn't contain a few chortles at the image of Harry stepping on Vernon's face.

** Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't to exactly what he'd been trying to do. **

"I guess he's smarter than he sounds." Tonks interrupted herself grudgingly.

"It's not that hard to be smarter than speaking troll, trust me." Harry said, and Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "That's my pup!" He said proudly. "Pup?" Harry asked curiously.

"I am your dogfather after all!" This was followed by a chorus of groans and some insistence that Tonks should continue reading.

**He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea.**

"And then the tea is poisoned and the horrible uncle dies and Harry is sent to live with his awesome, astonishingly handsome godfather!" Sirius yelled, and Tonks just rolled her eyes. It wasn't worth the time to try to get Sirius to shut up.

**Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

"What's with the green?" Remus asked suddenly, seeing a pattern starting. He only got shrugs and weird stares from the others, and so he dropped the subject. Harry wondered as well; _was it the sorting hat still trying to place me in Slytherin? _Reminded of that silent conversation between him and the hat, he squirmed uncomfortably. He knew Remus and Sirius and the others loved him, but he also knew of their hatred for all things slytherin. _Would they cast me out, or hate me? _He thought miserably, and burrowed further into the couch. Remus, of course, didn't miss a thing, but didn't understand what had prompted Harry's sudden anxiety.

**"I want—" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

"That bastard." Sirius growled, and Molly cried shrilly, "Language!" though she didn't quite seem to be in the mood of it. "It's alright Sirius." Harry sighed, and Sirius looked startled. "Of course it isn't!" He exclaimed, wondering how much Harry had actually gone through and how much his godson had thought was bad. He just wanted Harry to leave the dursleys in the book so he could read about his year at Hogwarts, his love life, his friends, and his pranks.

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"That's dedicated for you." Arthur commented, surprised at his behavior, "I thought he loved his job."

"He loved making me miserable even more." Harry murmured softly as is not to be heard, but Remus, with his heightened hearing heard every word. That was it; there was no putting a conversation off anymore. After the chapter, he promised himself, and made eye contact with Sirius to tell him the same.

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."**

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"For once, she speaks sense." Remus said, surprised.

"We'll just keep sending them until he opens one." McGonagall said with pride, and Moody, impatient, motioned madly at Tonks to keep reading.

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways,**

"Oi!" Sirius cried out.

"Will you shut it and stop interrupting every couple of lines so that we can actually go somewhere today." Moody snapped.

"But- they called me mad!"

"That's not hard to believe." Remus said dryly.

"Come on Harry, back me up!" but Harry just shrugged his shoulders helplessly, fighting a grin off his face. Sirius was trying to do the same.

"Okay, okay, enough from the peanut gallery." Tonks said, and before they could respond, kept reading.

**Petunia, they're not like you and me,"**

"Thank Merlin for that."

"Not another word, Black."

**Said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

Sirius mouthed, "He's the one who's crazy now," and shot Moody a triumphant grin.

Moody pinned him with a glare and Sirius moved back slightly.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused mailman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"We do!" The majority of the room chorused and Harry turned bright red, fiddling with a loose piece of thread come off the couch.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. "No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers. "no damn letters today –"**

Nobody said a thing, but everyone in the room was smiling, because they knew that that wasn't true for the wizarding world – even Moody had a malicious sort of smile.

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one – "Out! OUT!" Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

Growling came from Sirius and from Remus, and Tonks watched them cautiously as they showed their protectiveness of Harry—she didn't want the book torn to pieces, but if it was between the book and her face, the book would have to go. She swallowed loudly before continuing.

** When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. "That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

"Serves him right." Sirius muttered moodily, thinking of worse things to do to Dudley and the rest of the Dursleys next time he saw them.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," He would mutter whenever he did this. They didn't stop to eat or drink all day.**

"But that's not healthy." Molly protested quietly, hating the fact that Harry had been mistreated, and she, trying to be a mother to him, had not noticed or learned about any of those things. Minerva's face was pinched with anger, she had a certain fondness for the boy, and she didn't know if she could handle hearing about how hard his home life was.

**By nightfall Dudley was howling.**

"Hey!" Remus cried, "That's an insult to wolves."

Sirius snorted, "And you would know Moony."

"Shut up Padfoot."

"Make me."

"Maybe I will."

"Will both of you let me read?!" Tonks yelled, glaring particularly at Sirius.

"She's only nice to you because she fancies you." Sirius hissed at Remus for a final say and got a thump over the head for his trouble.

**He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

Arthur looked curious and Harry quickly explained, "It's a game that you can play."

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering… They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.**

Sirius wrinkled his nose, a firm believer of having good food and lots of it. The woman in the room had varying looks of worry, anger and sorrow at the pitiful meal. Dudley could've used a diet, but Harry needed to eat something substantial.

**They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. " 'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about a 'undred of these at the front desk." She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: Mr. H. Potter Room 17 Railview Hotel Cokeworth. Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

"Smart woman," McGonagall murmured, "she probably noticed something was wrong. _If only she had checked the address on the first letter sent she could've sent someone to get Harry and give him a better childhood… _Still, she knew that Harry had Remus and Sirius to take care of him and he would be more than alright with them.

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. "Wouldn't it be better if we just go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. "Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"A long time ago." Sirius snorted at the book, and Remus poked him in the side. "You're doing it again…" he warned, and Sirius looked confused. "Doing what?"

"Talking to an inanimate object."

"Oh, shut it."

"Can the two of you save this all for later?" McGonagall reprimanded, and Tonks read on quickly before Sirius had time to insult the professor and start a long argument.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudly sniveled.**

"Just like Snivellus!" Sirius exclaimed, and the animagus returned, simply saying, "Severus Snape will be joining the reading later on in the book, so please refrain from judgment and argument about him till the end of the series." It glowed brightly and then disappeared. Sirius looked indignant at the thought of the lesser-liked order member joining them to read about his godson, but didn't say anything.

**"It's Monday," he told his mother.**

"Thank goodness he can at least tell what day of the week it is." McGonagall said.

"Oh, no. He only knows the days of the week by the television shows he watches." Harry said, smirking at the horrified expression on his Professors face. He became even more amused when Remus's face became equally outraged. Once a professor, always a professor it seemed…

**"The Great Humberto's on tonight. **

"See?"

**I want to stay somewhere with a television." Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday – and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television – then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Happy birthday!" Sirius shouted, full of exuberance. While Sirius was burdened and no longer 'innocent' because of Azkaban, he still believed that every kids birthday had to be celebrated with at least a few gifts and love. Remus, the more logical of the two, felt uneasy because he knew that it would be unlike the Dursleys to give Harry a good birthday, but was optimistic and so he convinced himself that there had to be some humanity in them. He didn't miss the way that Harry squirmed backward slightly and became fascinated with the floor.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun – last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

"What?" Sirius looked devastated, his eyes sparkling with tears, and Remus felt his vision go blurry as well. How could someone as lovable and kind as Harry been so unloved. Feelings of guilt tugged at the pit of his stomach. He was vaguely aware of Tonks hair going bright red and her grip on the book increasing, of McGonagall's and Molly's hissing,Moody's solemn, expressionless face, Arthurs outraged expression- even Dumbledore, who was always cheerful about something, was uncharacteristically sad. Sirius just sat, dumbfounded, before lunging at Harry and babbling on about how he was going to spoil him rotten.

Dumbledore was thinking back to the Mirror of Erised. He had not been surprised at Harry's desire for his family- he would've been surprised if he had seen something different, but now he saw the extent of how without family Harry was. He made an unconscious decision to- after all the books were finished- get Harry living with Sirius and Remus. Not that the two men would let him do anything else after reading about Harry's home life.

When the noise finally died down a bit, Tonks smiled at the scene before her, with both Sirius and Remus hugging Harry, and looked back down at the book. She hoped her reading would be over soon, and they would all have a break, because _man_, Harry's childhood was depressing. She had always had a wonderful childhood, and it broke her heart to read about Harry being mistreated. She didn't know him very well, but she knew him enough to say firmly that he deserved nothing that the Dursleys did to him, no one did.

**Still, you weren't eleven every day. Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

"Why do I have a feeling that he didn't get a gift?" McGonagall said coldly, and Harry involuntarily shivered at her tone, although he admitted that it was kind of nice to see someone upset at his expense.

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine.**

Remus gasped, "Please tell me you didn't stay there!" Harry studied the floor and Remus went in for another hug. Personal space be damned, he got shivers even thinking about how cold and uncomfortable, not to mention how unsafe, being in a hut in the middle of the sea could've been.

Harry was confused why Lupin was acting that way, it was just a hut, and he had slept outside when it was cold all the time. Still, he relaxed into his other godfather's arms, soaking up the comfort they provided. Reading about his childhood was bringing back bad memories and instincts. He had a feeling that Sirius's and Lupin's reactions would grow steadily worse and worse the more they read, and that the two would have heart attacks when they learned about his second summer after Hogwarts. _Of course,_ Harry added mentally, _not before Sirius does something stupid in an effort to kill the Dursleys._

**One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"Of course not." Moody said dryly.

"No interrupting." Tonks scolded playfully in a mockery of him before, and he gave her a withering look.

She read on hurriedly.

**"Storm forecast for tonight!"**

"Oh, no! You could get sick! They had better make sure you have plenty of quilts and something warm to drink." Molly mothered. Apparently, the floor had become much more fascinating.

**Said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. "I've already got us some rations,"**

"Which Dudley will eat all of," Sirius said bitterly.

**Said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" It was freezing ink the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

"You had better sleep in one of them." Sirius growled, but Harry ignored his antics, not even bothering to remind his sometimes not-all-there godfather that it had already happened. It did feel nice for someone to be worried for him, Harry decided.

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

Moody snorted.

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up. "Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

Sirius was glaring so fiercely at the book that Tonks had the sudden apprehensive thought that she might suddenly burst on fire from it. The sooner the chapter was done, the better. She could use some firewhisky as well. Tonks wasn't much of a drinker, but the book was putting everyone's nerves on edge and she could do with something relaxing. Sirius and Remus could both definitely use a calming potion.

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail.**

"Hogwarts does!" Sirius cheered.

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all. As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows.**

"That doesn't sound safe," Remus said worriedly, "it could fall into the sea."

Harry had to refrain from snorting. If Professor Lupin thought that sleeping in a hut in the middle of the sea was dangerous, he was going to have fits when he learned about the dangers at Hogwarts. He wondered whether he should have some medical attention at hand in case his godfathers had heart attacks.

**Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

No one had the energy to show their anger anymore, it only smoldered under their skin as they sunk in on themselves. It just got worse and worse…

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all,**

Remus grimaced, and Sirius pulled Harry into a hug.

**Wondering where the letter writer was now. Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

Sirius squeezed Harry harder, if that was possible, in an unconscious attempt to keep his godson warm, even though it made no sense to do so.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steals one somehow. Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

"I hope not." Molly said worriedly.

"It's alright Mrs. Weasley," Harry assured her, but she still looked doubtful.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds…twenty…ten…nine – maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him—**

"Do It!" Sirius yelled, then turned to Harry, "Did you do it?"

"Weeell…" Harry hesitated, "he did wake up."

"Brilliant!"

"You could've found that out much sooner by letting Tonks read." Remus reasoned playfully and Sirius tried to look cross. It didn't work. Tonks snorted at their friendly banter before going back to the book, glad for her chapter to be over.

**Three…two…one…**

**BOOM**

Tonks shouted this, she couldn't help it, and was amused to see the whole room jump. Moody had jumped out of his chair, wand out, and Sirius let out a loud yelp. "What happened?" He asked fearfully, but Tonks just turned back to the book.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"Okay, time for a break." Tonks announced, and the door shimmered a light blue. The order members filed out, and Harry moved to get up, but Remus stopped him. "Harry, can you please stay back for a minute?" he asked kindly, and Harry sat down again, looking wary.

"We wanted to talk to you." Sirius said.

* * *

**So I'm thinking that the next chapter will be a talk, with heavy angst and talk of abuse, so I hope you'll enjoy that, though I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. Reviews will help me make it sooner than later! I also need feedback to make sure their reactions believable, and most of all, opinions on who else should read with them! Please Review!**


	5. The beginning of finding family?

**Hey, all! Spring break has ended for me, but I'm horribly sick from it (I know, horrible timing, right?). Even though I'm sick, I still have enough in me to write an angsty conversation, and I hope it will be up to everyone's standards. It's a little short, I think, but I can't really tell until I put it into format on the site, and I didn't want to drag it on too far and make it seem unnatural. Thank you to everyone who as reviewed, I read over everyone's comments after my initial draft, and your combined motivations and suggestions have inspired me to read it over and make some more corrections. Special thanks to youwannabekate, because I look forward to hearing her commenting every chapter, and her most recent comment about how Harry has been through a lot, so he's stronger than you might think at first, has really helped. Of course, you have to consider that he is still young, these books drag up a lot of horrible memories for him, and he is experiencing Voldemorts emotions attempt to control him. As for relationships, for those who were wondering, I'll mostly stay canon, but I'd rather avoid most of that and stick with more of building a family around Harry. SO, after this ridiculously long Authors Note, I'll let you get on with reading.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing, not even me being sick, will drive me to be desperate enough to steal another person's work, so I will tell you that anything you recognize is not mine.(though this chapter does not have text directly transmitted from the Harry Potter series).**

Harry paused, hesitant, but he knew that his two guardians would not leave him alone until they had some time to talk to him without interruptions, and he figured that he might as well get it out of the way. Remus guided him to sit again, and hesitated. "Did the Dursleys- hurt you?" he asked, and Harry swallowed, voice choking up. "Harry?" Sirius pleaded, becoming more frantic the longer he stayed silent. "Sometimes." He finally whispered, and Sirius tried to swallow a sob as he embraced his godson with all of his strength. Remus growled, but he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice. All he could think of was the millions of ways he could imagine the Dursleys hurting his cub, and every image that involuntarily came to his mind made his teeth set on edge.

"I mean- not a lot. Usually- they would- well, they would just make me do chores, or sleep outside, or not have dinner- but sometimes Uncle Vernon would get mad, and-" Harry struggled to speak. "It's alright," Remus comforted, voice tight with anger at the Dursleys, "you know that you don't deserve any of that, right?" Harry looked down.  
"They would call me a freak- and-and a murderer. Because of C-cedric, you know? I should've told someone, but it wasn't that important-"

"Of course it's important!" Sirius cried, "We want you to be safe, Harry. We're always here for you, we want you to trust us!"

This seemed to enrage Harry, and he got up, pacing madly as he yelled, "No! Don't you see?! I don't need help! I trust you, but I have to focus on other things, like Voldemort! But nobody will tell me anything because I'm too young to help and it doesn't matter that Cedric died because of me! I swear, Sirius, if you do anything foolish because of me-"

"Harry- oh Harry- you don't need to protect me. That's my job, I'm supposed to be here for _you_." Sirius said in no louder than a whisper, his voice trembling with emotion.

"I'm not a little kid anymore," Harry said brokenly, "you don't know what I've seen."

"Why won't you open up to us?" Remus asked, his voice sticky in his throat.

_They didn't understand. _Harry tried to speak, tried to explain what was going on in his head, but all he felt was a surge of anger, and a violence that frightened himself. _Was this him? If it was, would Sirius and Remus hate him? Was he becoming like Voldemort?_ Harry forced himself to go weak instead of carry out any actions that whispered to him, so alluring. Remus and Sirius sprang forward, Remus's eyes flashing amber in panic, but he let out a warning hiss, stopping them in their tracks. Remus paused, then moved forward slowly, reaching out and holding Harry. The human contact was just what Harry needed to break the anger's hold, and soon his chest was wracked with sobs, and Sirius moved forward, holding him from the other side. The three clung to each other, crying yet comforting one another at the same time. _It would be alright, in the end. It would take time, but no matter what, they would have each other._

Eventually, they left the room to go eat with the others. Conversation paused at the dinner table at their arrival and their vulnerable expressions, but Molly rushed Harry over to dump heaps of food on his plate, and the chatter resumed. After everyone had eaten their fill, and Harry had found a way to slip away from Molly, who was continually looking for an excuse to constantly fill his plate, they filed into the living room, and settled into the same positions as before. A coffee table filled with an assortment of firewhiskey, glasses, and calming droughts appeared in the middle of the circle with a familiar blue glow, and most of the adults took the strong beverage thankfully, except for Moody, who was convinced that they were poisoned. "I'll read." McGonagall announced, and she picked up the book, flipping to where they had last stopped. She took a deep drink, and let the fiery sensation consume her as she prayed to merlin that something good would happen- anything at all, really. And with that, she cleared her throat and began to read…

**Whew! Angst is my favorite fanfiction genre, though I love some hurt/comfort/family themes and the good romance, but it really takes a lot out of the writer! Still, I should be posting soon, since I have a lot of time, and I owe it to you guys. I had a hard time transitioning to the end of this chapter, so I'm sorry if this is all a little brief. I just didn't have the energy to go into detail of the others talking and eating dinner. To tell the truth, I'm a little nervous for the next chapter, because although I know a lot of people like hearing about Hagrid getting revenge on the Dursleys and Sirius and the order getting a kick out of it, I'm a little afraid that I'll have to much similar sounding comments inbetween, or not enough. Please, tell me how I'm doing so far, and give me any suggestions on what I should do. I try to incorporate as many peoples suggestions as I feel comfortable with, and it helps the story along! Thank you all so much for your wonderful response to this story, and I feel honored that you enjoy my writing. Hope you all enjoyed/enjoy? Your spring breaks, and that you are all in good health! I'll try not to send you any sicknesses(cough, cough). :)**

**PS. Jeez, now that i look at this chapter in the final format, I feel really bad for making it so short, but I will really try to keep going and get some more done.**


	6. The keeper of keys pt 1

** I KNOW, It's been forever since I've updated and with that, I could use three paragraphs to talk about why and how sorry I am, so I'll just say: SORRY, LIFE IS CHAOTIC. I can't update this story until I am able to read and copy out of the book (as blunt as that sounds), and since I only have the first book on my nook right now, and it doesn't have any battery, I can't finish this chapter. It sucks, but that's how it is. So why am I posting part of the chapter anyway? Well, I figured since I'm up and running again, I thought you all ought to know about why it'll take me so long to update, but I HATE it when authors add a chapter only to talk about why they can't update or them going on Hiatus, and after thinking awhile, I figured it would be better to give you some of a chapter instead of none. I promise, as soon as I find the charging cord for the nook, or find some other copy of the book, I will continue to update. Thank you for understanding… well, if you understand, that is. This is the chapter where the Dursley's receive a surprising entrance, and you'll find that the order receives one as well. Who will it be? Dun, Dun, DUN.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of JK Rowling's work, because if I did, I would be rich, and famous and... I have to stop daydreaming. Anything that's in bold (but not my authors notes) nor the characters that you recognize belong to me. That's all, happy reading.**

"The Keeper of the keys."

Many people wanted to ask if it referred to Hagrid, but Moody looked as if he might start yelling if they did, so Minerva read on, with a small smile on her lips at the situation and hesitance the rest of the order members had. Maybe the firewhiskey was loosening her up already…

"**BOOM.**

"Come on, Minnie, you have to yell it!" Sirius pouted, and Remus winced, imagining the damage it would do on his sensitive ears. McGonagall ignored them.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"I doubt there was a cannon," Moody said gruffly, "no explosion."

"I think we had gathered that Dudley was wrong in his assumptions." Dumbledore said, eyes sparkling slightly. Mad-eye looked wounded, and defended himself, "Just wanted to make sure these thick-headed fools understood. Especially Black."

"Oi!"

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands-**

"Oh!" Molly gasped, and their faces ranged from pure anger to confusion, Arthur Weasley's being of the darkest expression.

"What's a rifle?" Sirius asked uneasily. He had heard a little of the muggle contraptions, and understood that they were not a laughing matter.

Arthur frowned deeply and said, "They're muggle weapons, extremely dangerous. There were a few aurors shot because of them. They shouldn't be used, nor held around children." The members who hadn't known that eye's opened widely, and Sirius swore slightly under his breath.

**Now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. "Who's there?" he shouted. " I warn you – I'm armed!" There was a pause. Then - SMASH!**

She read this with a little more bravado, probably due to the increased amount of firewhiskey she had drunk after she had learned what a rifle was.

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

"That's Hagrid, for sure." Remus commented, amused at the grand entrance the gameskeeper had made, and even more so joyful that it was the type of thing the Dursleys would despise.

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. **

"He fit?" Tonks asked, knowing how tall Hagrid could be. "We would assume so." Moody snapped at her.

**His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

There was a loud thump from a little beyond the door, some muttered cursing, and someone called out, "That's a pleasant description!" "Who're you talking about?" another voice rang right after, and the order looked up with dread, knowing that, without a doubt, the twins had joined in on the meeting.

"Gossiping, are we?" The Fred and George chorused with equally mischievous looks as they popped through the door without any resistance from the blue shield and if the order had been filled with dread at their entrance, then the look on their mother's face made them want to run for cover. "What are you doing in here?!" she shrieked loudly.

"That's what we want to know."

"We got a patronus-"

"Some weird blue wolf creature- I think it was,"

"That told us that you all were reading books about Harry here,"

"and that we were invited!"

"So you just couldn't resist, could you?!" Molly screamed, her face a bright red, "Just have to put yourselves in danger without thinking!"

The twins looked affronted and ready to argue, but Arthur stepped in. "Molly, I think they have a right to know." He said gently, but she only looked more desperate. "They're just children!"

"Molly!" Sirius barked, trying to break it up, but she only whirled on him, yelling, "Don't you start! You don't know a thing about protecting children!"

"I have Harry!" He roared.

"You don't have Harry! Every time you look at him, you see James. He's not his father! You just put him in danger, and hide from the dementors that wouldn't find your soul if you hadn't let your emotions get the best of you! You aren't there for that poor boy-"

"Actually," Harry stood, cutting her off in mid-rant, "I think he's done a rather good job taking care of me."

"Harry, dear," Molly whispered, her words finally weighing in on her. She tried to backpedal, "you have to understand-"

"I think I understand a lot, actually. Why shouldn't they know? This wolf-person, whoever she is, hasn't put us in any danger so far, so why would she start now?!"

"We don't know that we're not in danger for sure." Molly protested, with some venom.

Harry threw his hands up in the air, frustrated. "What good is your protection going to be when Voldemort goes after them?!"

She flinched.

"I don't have a mother, Mrs. Weasley, but I reckon she'd be pretty upset right now. Still, I think that she would at least have the decency to prepare me for what's to come!"

"They're too young! _You're _too young to be fighting!"

"I'm not a child anymore! Yah, I bet I'm too young; but who else? I've got to do it, don't I? So don't go around, insulting the only family I have left, pretending like I can still be normal, when I've got this scar on my forehead!" By the end of his speech, Harry was bellowing, and Molly subsided, staring at him in wide-eyed shock. The rest of the order looked at him in a similar silence, until she whispered brokenly, "They can listen."

"Mate-" Fred hesitated, "you alright?"

"I'm fine. No, really. Sit down." A small red couch appeared in the circle near Molly and Arthur's loveseat. The twins both sat, and George tried to lighten the mood by asking, "So, what did we miss?"

Sirius's face darkened at that comment, and Remus's eyes flashed amber, while Harry gave a weak, half-hearted smile. "They locked my godson in a cupboard and starved him." Sirius said flatly, and the twins recoiled as one. "You mean-"

"The bars-"

"Yeah." Harry said quietly, as Sirius jumped up. "Bars?!"

"You'll find out later-"he hurried on when Sirius looked about to protest, "I promise. Second year."

Molly felt her guts twist when she guessed what her boys were referring to. _Surely they were only exaggerating? _She didn't know what to think anymore.

"Now that we're all settled, perhaps we ought to continue reading?" McGonagall suggested, and when the rest of the order nodded, she reopened the book and told the twins, "We will fill you in on what has happened later on." She found her place and began again.

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all. "Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."**

"Hagrid kicked down the door and asks for a cup of tea?" Sirius asked, incredulous.

"Hagrid kicked down a door?!" Fred asked, wide eyed.

"Wicked!" George cried from beside him.

"Yes, yes, all very good, but can we actually get going?" Mad-eye said irritably.

"I don't know, I kind of like waiting…. Procrastinating…" Tonks said, grinning.

He gave her the evil eye.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. "Budge up, yeh great lump,"**

"Whoohoooo! Go Hagrid, go hagrid, go hagrid, go hagrid," Sirius yelled at the top of his lungs and started dancing around the room, continuing in his chant. Most of the room was struggling to fight laughter, though when Sirius started on his fiftieth repetition, Mad-eye snarled at him to sit down, and Sirius finally did so. But not before screaming a final, "Gooooooo Hagriiiid!" Right in Remus's ear. The pissed werewolf, whose ears were still ringing, growled, "Could you be _any_ louder?" In reality, he was fighting a grin. It was nice, very nice, to read about Dudley being put in his place, and though his friend was annoying, he could be amusing at times. Besides, the important thing was that Harry was grinning. When his cub smiled, all was right in the world.

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon. **

"Does cowardess run in the family?" Remus asked, and Sirius grinned widely. "More proof that they're not Harry's family!" He crowed. Harry said, "I didn't know that there were any doubts." Sirius proceeded to look horrified and tried to comfort Harry until the raven-haired boy only chuckled, and they were able to see his remark for what it was, a lighthearted jab. Sirius scowled and sulked while McGonagall read on impatiently.

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant. Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

"And it all begins." Harry says with a dramatic sigh. Everyone looked at him curiously and he explained, "_Everyone _I meet says that eventually."

"Not us!" Fred chirped. The twins exchanged evil glances and they chorused, "You look a lot like your dad, but you have your mum's eyes." Harry groaned.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. "I demand that you leave at once, sir!"he said. "You are breaking and entering!" "Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant: he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

Arthur let out a sigh of relief. Even though he usually hated destroying Muggle objects, he didn't like the idea of one that could harm so easily used against Hagrid, or near Harry. He knew without a second thought that Molly would have Harry as a second son, but after only another moment, he thought himself as a father to the boy. _Of course, Remus and Sirius seem to have it covered. _The two men sat close to Harry, and although his comfort might not be noticeable by most, Arthur could see the way his normally tense shoulders relax, and he smiled a lot more around them.

**Uncle Venon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. "Anyway – Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday written on it in green icing.**

"Remind me to let Hagrid ride Buckbeak anytime!" Sirius crowed, beaming, "Damnit, he can have the motorbike!"

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Tsk, Tsk, Harry, remember your manners!" George scolded in a mocking tone.

"Hey, I was only eleven at the time!" Harry protested, "And, I didn't know anything about giants either."

**The giant chuckled. "True. I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

"Oh, yes, that clears everything up." Tonks snorted.

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm. "What about tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

"Hagrid!" Mrs. Weasely said in a scandalized tone.

"At least he didn't offer Harry any." Minerva muttered darkly, and Molly screeched, "You mean he actually offered students firewhiskey?!"

"He was very new at the time." Dumbledore placated, and decided that it might be good not to mention any of Hagrids doings in front of her if possible. He knew that the groundskeeper always had the student's best intentions at heart. McGonagall stopped muttering and continued to read.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing, but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.**

"I was under the impression that Hagrid wasn't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts unless absolutely necessary." McGonagall frowned, but Sirius shouted, "It was necessary, Minnie; my godson was freezing to death!"

"You're so melodramatic." Harry sighed, but he felt a little bad for Hagrid getting in trouble because of his past being revealed in detail. He felt bad, until he remembered all the things that he would be caught doing, and then he felt a whole lot worse for himself. If his overprotective guardians heard of the extent of dangerous things he had done, he wouldn't be able to ride his broom for_ years_.

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath. The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squishy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"Wow, he was able to fit that many things in his coat?" Tonks asked incredulously.

"It would be a useful sort of item to have." Mad-eye considered. Meanwhile, the twins were whispering fiercely, and Harry could assume they were considering a new idea for their joke shop. Molly was too busy being distressed over Hagrids drinking problem to notice their scheming.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.**

"The pig had better not plan to steal them." Sirius said threateningly, and Remus growled his assent.

**Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." The giant chuckled darkly. "Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." **

"You tell 'em!" Sirius and Tonks both crowed.

**He passed the sausages to Harry,**

"Good." Molly said with relief.

**Who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does.**

"Do you think people call him Rubeus?" Harry asked, but nobody seemed to know.

**An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course. "Er – no," said Harry. Hagrid looked shocked. "Sorry," Harry said quickly. "Sorry?" Barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry!**

"That's right!" both Fred and George shouted.

**I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

"No, because they never told them about his parents." Sirius said bitterly, but Harry squeezed his shoulder in comfort. "That's why I have you guys, right?" He asked, and Sirius gave him a watery smile in return.

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

Remus's ears were beginning to hurt from all the yelling, but he was eager for more, because when Hagrid was angry, some revenge would be had at the Dursleys.

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. "Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy – this boy! – knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?" **

"This is getting good." Sirius said in delight, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"That's not what Hagrid means." McGonagall told Harry, and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know that _now_."

**"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

"Which is more than your cousin can do." George joked.

"It's true," Remus said, "the only reason he can tell the day of the week is that he knows his television shows."

"Didn't think he was that stupid." Fred said.

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." **

**"What world?" Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. "DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

"YOU'RE A STUPID, IDIOTIC PIG!" Sirius shouted loudly as if to finish Hagrid's statement. "Will you cut that out?" Remus asked irritably. Sirius let out a loud huff, but to everyone's relief, said nothing more.

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said.**

"I know Hagrid," Dumbledore sighed, and everyone stared at the headmaster, not quite daring to correct him in saying that Hagrid couldn't hear him.

**"I mean, they're famous. You're famous."**

"Unfortunately." Harry groaned.

**"What? My – my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" **

**"Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare. "Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally. Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"Too bad." Moody grunted.

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

"I'd like to see you try." Molly said angrily, and Arthur nodded firmly as well, wanting to give Harry's relatives a piece of his mind.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage. "You never told him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?" **

**"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly. "STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. "Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry – yer a wizard." There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. "I'm a what?" gasped Harry.**

"You're a wizard." The twins chorused. "Didn't you hear the man?" Fred added.

"Hey, I was a bit shocked at the time!" Harry defended.

"Suuure. Whatever you say, Harry."

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter." Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-rock, The sea. He pulled out the letter and read: Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore.**

The room gave a small cheer, and Dumbledore blushed a little, waving his hands to calm them down. "Completely unnecessary." Moody growled, but nobody paid any attention to him.

**(order of merlin, first class, grand sore., chf. Warlock, supreme mugwump, international confed. of wizards) Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

Snickers filled the room as Sirius asked incredulously, "_That's_ the first question you ask?" Harry blushed. "It was the first thing that came to my mind."

"Don't worry, Harry." Remus assured with a devilish grin, "that's a lot better than what Sirius first did."

"Wait! How did you know what I did?" Sirius stammered, turning an even brighter red.

"You told us, under veritaserum." Remus snickered.

"What did he do?"

"Don't you dare!"  
"As I recall, I believed he screamed in a rather high-pitched voice and fainted. And then he asked why they had July 31st as the latest date to respond to when he woke up."

Laughter burst out, and it took several minutes for everyone to control themselves as Sirius buried his head in a pillow.

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl –**

"What?!" Tonks exclaimed, "That poor owl!"

"I may have to talk to Hagrid about his habit of keeping animals in his coat pockets." McGonagall admitted with a frown.

**A long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note which Harry could read upside down: Dear Professor Dumbledore, Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. Hagrid.**

"That sounds like something Hagrid would write." Sirius chuckled.

Minerva looked up and said astonishedly, "You could read this upside down? I had a hard enough time reading it right side." She paused, "If only you could improve your own handwriting…"

"Yah, that'll be a while." Sirius said, "I can hardly read his letters to me."  
"Oh, stop exaggerating." Harry scolded, "Ron's handwriting is way worse than mine."

"How would I know that? He doesn't write me."

"Oh, just shut up."

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"It isn't," George said. "It's way more normal."

"Not when it comes to Muggles." His father explained, and the twins both brightened.

"Oh, I remember that from Muggle Studies! They invent brilliant things, those Muggles. Especially fireworks…" Fred said, eyes becoming dazed as he was probably imagining the many ways fireworks could improve pranks.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly. "Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight. "He's not going." He said.**

"Oh, he is." Remus growled, and Sirius clenched his fists. Surprisingly, even Moody, who had been fairly expressionless throughout the story grimaced. They turned to stare at him. "What?" he grunted, "The boy's got talent, potential to be an auror. Can't be wasted."

"Aww, I knew you had a heart somewhere." Tonks cooed, but recoiled from the glare she received.

**Hagrid grunted. "I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. "A what?" said Harry, interested. "A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." **

"Worse." Sirius said darkly, "A bunch of filthy, no-good-"

"Sirius." Remus warned, although the same thoughts were running through his head.

**I know that this cuts off in a really inconvenient place, but I warned you, didn't I? I said all that I needed to up at the top, except the one thing you should always expect to hear: please, please, please give some feedback. Someone mentioned having a balance of angst, yet humor, and so I thought adding the twins would help add some lightheartedness, and it always bothers me in the books that Mrs. Weasley always excludes them from anything Potentially dangerous, so I thought this was as good a chapter as any to vocalize it in. Again, I don't know who else I'm having there or when they're coming in, but I'll figure it out as soon as I finish this one chapter… **


End file.
